The Senior Parade!

Well, it had to happen eventually. Meggie finished high school! While we still have the official graduation ceremony next Saturday, today was a rite of passage...the Senior Parade!

Since the parade started at 8:30 this morning and the Littles didn't have to report to school until 9:20, I had the awesome idea to take them with me to the parade! Meggie DID invite me to the parade and even wanted me to take pictures (like she had to request THAT from the Mamaparazzi!). However, I wasn't sure if she would like Carson and Molly coming along. So I didn't ask her...we made it a surprise!

Meggie didn't seem upset. In fact, she actually looked kinda happy about it! And, while Meggie complains about Carson and Molly driving her nuts, it's obvious she talks about them with pride at school...we heard people yelling Carson and Molly's names from all over the parking lot. These kids are like mini-celebrities at the high school! They took it in stride.

For the parade, the Seniors decorated their cars in various themes. Inspired by their friend, Diana...
...who invited Meggie and Evan to her cousin's quinceañera birthday party, they decided on a Mexican theme. However, their only Mexican theme decorations were two sombreros and a blanket. So, the gang got creative...
...and combined a Mexican theme with a summer theme. (See what it says on the back window? "Adios LEHS, Hello Summer!") I thought it was cute. Even though the skies were grey and cloudy and it was only 60 degrees...
...the Seniors did NOT care. They were all smiles and laughter. In fact...
...Meggie was happily posing for pictures...even a picture with me! I had to love the fact that Meggie was freezing in a tank top and flip-flops...
...and Evan was keeping himself nice and toasty with our Mexican blanket! And they say chivalry is dead.

When I took a picture of Meggie and her girlfriends...
...Diana, Taylor, Abby, and Laura...
...I had to take another one, with Princess Molly included. Hey, they treat her like she is one of the girls!

As the Littles and I headed to get a good spot for the actual parading, I could see they were full of energy...
...and since there were a few high school students near our watching spot...
...I decided to play with the Littles to keep 'em occupied. So we played a made-up game that combined Marco Polo (you know, that game you play in the swimming pool?) and freeze tag. We were outside, at least 50 feet from the students, and were NOT being loud...in fact, the high schoolers were barely looking at us.

Well, after a few minutes of harmless fun, a woman (a guidance counselor, based on her name badge) came up and scolded me...for "setting a bad example" for the students! I was flabbergasted! I said, "Setting a bad example? By playing a game with my kids??" She just repeated that I was "setting a bad example." I turned around and abruptly walked away from her. I didn't even know how to respond to that!

Thank goodness! Here comes the parade!
Carson was SUPER excited to see a police car at the front of the pack, but I think this...
...was his favorite car of the bunch. He thought it was a superhero car! I took a ton of pictures during the parade, and thought I'd arrange them for your viewing pleasure.

There were a few themes that emerged, including...
...covering the car in Post-it Notes...
...tropical/summer themes, including...
...two groups in actual boats...
...and Meggie and her friends in their Mexican/summer themed car. (That picture is blurry because Evan was driving entirely too fast!)

This summer-themed car was probably my favorite...
...because it came with such wonderful service! Molly was bent down, collecting candy off the ground when that nice boy in the coconut bra and grass skirt brought a green lei over to Carson. When Molly looked up and saw Carson wearing a lei, she yelled at the boy, "HEY! I WANT ONE TOOOOOOOO!!" God love him, he ran to the car...
...and sprinted back with a pink lei for her!

There were a couple individuals that earned a spot in this post due to their wonderful service, like this girl...
...who hand-delivered candy canes to Molly, and this girl...
...who got to student-teach in Carson's classroom this year and took the time to be sure he got plenty of candy.

Of course, no Senior Parade would be complete without...
...an old-time car...
...guys in togas...
...or a dump truck full of half-dressed teenage boys?!

There were, however, some very creative cars in the parade, like this...
...Candyland-themed one...
...this car announcing that the students are officially "toast"...
...and this convertible Chick Magnet, complete with Barbie dolls attached all around it. In the creative department, these guys...
...were my absolute favorite. Isn't that hysterical?!

And, of course, there are always those cars that just make no sense, like this one...
...with a skull on the hood and a scary clown in the front seat. And this one...
...that actually got boo'd by the crowd of high schoolers standing with us. (I kinda felt bad for that girl.)

The parade lasted about 30 minutes, Carson and Molly had a GREAT time...
...and we walked away with my purse full of candy. I'd call that a success! We headed over to say goodbye to Meggie and her friends...
...took a couple more pictures, and it was time to take the Littles to school. As we turned to walk away, Meggie thanked me for coming and told me she loved me...loudly and in front of her friends.

I fought back the urge to hug her and choked back tears as we walked away...